Balanced supporting device illusion



March 13, 1956 G. HOFFMAN 2,738,188

BALANCED SUPPORTING DEVICE ILLUSION Filed Feb. 21. 1951 FIG. I.

INVENTOR.

HOFFMAN GEORGE United States Patent 2,738,188 v, BALANCED SUPPORTING DEVICE ILLUSION George Hoffman, St. Louis, Mo., assignor of one-half to William E. McCracken, St. Louis, Mo.

Application February 21, 1951, Serial No. 211,994 1 Claim. (Cl. 272-8) This invention relates generally to supporting devices and more specifically to a supporting device which, while it is capable of other uses, is well adapted for use in supporting merchandise in stores and the show windows thereof in such manner that the attention of prospective customers is attracted to merchandise displayed with the aid of the improved supporting devices because of the rather mysterious manner in which said supporting devices perform their supporting functions, the predominant object of the invention being to provide a supporting device of the type referred to above which is of extremely simple and inexpensive construction and arrangement and is capable of performing its intended function in an improved and eflicient manner.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational viewof one of the improved supporting devices of this invention, showing same as it appears when supporting an article of merchandise with respect to a shelf.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the improved supporting devices looking toward the top thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 2 but looking toward the bottom of the improved supporting device.

In the drawing wherein is shown for purposes of illustration, merely, one embodiment of the invention, A designates the improved supporting device generally. The device A comprises a block 1 of material of the shape shown inthe drawing, said block of material being provided with a recess 2. The recess is provided with a slightly curved wall 3 which extends from the top face of the block of material 1 forwardly and downwardly to a forwardly and upwardly extended short wall 4, said wall 4 joining at its upper end an upwardly and rearwardly ex- 1 is disposed in the recess.2 causes counteracting forces to tended wall 5 which merges into a substantially vertical 7 wall 6 that extends from the rearward end of the wall 5 to the top wall of the block of material 1. The combination of the walls of the recess 2 as shown in the drawing and described above, give to the block of material 1 a hookshaped forward end portion, and at the opposite end of said block of material a recess 7 is formedtherein which receives a substantial portion of a foot 8, a portion of said foot being projected outwardly, slightly, as is shown in the drawing. The foot 8 is formed of rubber, or other device A rests on the top face of the shelf S adjacent to the outer edge thereof and the main portion of said supporting device extends beyond said outer edge of said shelf. An upper portion of the belt B is disposed in the 2,738,188 Patented Mar. 13, 1956 recess 2 with a part of said belt portion overlapped by the rearwardly extended portion 1a of the supporting device 1 and the lower face of said belt portion in contact with at least a portion of the face 3 of the recess 2. Because of the shape of the recess 2, the belt B which be set up which supports the outer end of supporting device in the position shown in Fig. 1. In other words; there is at the rear end of the face 3 of the recess 2 a downwardly directed force produced by the belt, and also an upwardly directed force is exerted by the belt against the face 5 of the portion 1a of the supporting device, and these counteracting forces tend to maintain the belt in its rearwardly inclined position. The fact that the inclined face 3 of the recess 2 causes the counterbalancing lower portion of the supported belt B to extend inwardly past a perpendicular line drawn from the foot 8, results in the balanced support of the outer end portion of the supporting device A in the position shown in Fig. l.

I claim:

An illusion apparatus comprising the combination, with a supporting element disposed to provide free space therebeneath, of a semi-rigid flat belt or strap, and an elongated member including a head portion, a shank portion, and a connecting portion; said elongated member having an upwardly opening rearwardly extending notch defined by the head portion, the connecting portion and the adjacent part of the shank portion, the intermediate portion of the belt or strap engaging in said notch and being held thereby in contact relation with said shank portion, the elongated member being fulcrumed at its rear end on said supporting element, being held thereon solely by gravity, said elongated member extending forwardly in overhanging relation to the supporting element and having no support other than the fulcrum, the end portions of the belt or strap extending downwardly and rearwardly into the free space beneath said supporting element and passing through a transverse vertical plane intersecting the fulcrum whereby so much of the strap or belt ends are disposed on the rearward side of the said plane as to counterbalance the elongated member and to maintain it in a stably balanced position fulcrumed on said supporting element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 157,636 Schlienger Mar. 7, 1950 905,578 Read Dec. 1, 1908 1,032,210 Hibbs July 9, 1912 1,427,646 Selisnik Aug. 29, 1922 1,597,742 Turner Aug. 31, 1926 1,766,282 Colbert June 24, 1930 2,190,800 Murphy Feb. 20, 1940 2,532,255 Davis Nov. 28, 1950 2,551,668 Goosmann May 8, 1951 2,621,441 Worden Dec. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 665,285 France Sept. 17, 1929 632,145 Germany June 11, 1936 266,667 Switzerland Feb. 15, 1950 OTHER REFERENCES The Magicians Own Book, page 185. Published 1857.

Deltagram Magazine for Nov.-Dec. 1952, page 116. 

